Lean on me

The official definition of a mentor is “an experienced and trusted advisor“.

Most times we rely on our parents, family members, or close friends to serve as mentors, but it is not often we consider our teachers. I get it; when we need advice on how to deal with an argument we just had with our best friend,  our Maths teacher is not an obvious option. This is why the mentor evening that took place on Monday, 28th January, was so significant for both the Year 12 learners and the teachers of ISCT.

With the reality of adulthood and “life-after-highschool” approaching, the Year 12s are increasingly in need of a figure they can trust and reach out to in time of hardship and doubt.  The evening helped dissolve the common labels of “teacher” and “student” amongst the group, and instead encouraged learners to view their teachers as “adults who care”.

Organized by Mrs Pike, school counsellor and social worker, the students and teachers participated in a series of fun games.

To start the evening, Mrs Pike made each student guess who their mentor was by showing the students a zoomed in picture of one of their mentor’s belongings. Each student had to then guess what the item was and who it belonged to. The mentors and students then got to know each other a little more over some pizza.

After sharing a meal, everyone headed inside for another game. This time the mentors and their students had to work as a team to guess a series of words by looking at pictures. This take of charades was challenging but fun and the teams that guessed the words the quickest won a fizzer!

The afternoon ended off with the students and mentors spending a little quality time together as they answered a series of deep questions in the hope of discovering one another on a more personal level. Questions such as “do you believe in aliens?” and “what would I find if I looked under your bed?” assisted the students in realizing that their teachers are merely just wise humans who have been through life and all its difficulties.

By the time the evening ended, it is fair to say that each student left feeling safer, stronger and more supported.